For months, Iran’s internet was a ghost town. The regime’s shutdown, imposed amid nationwide protests, cut off 80 million people from the global web. Now, connectivity is trickling back.
But what does restoration mean when every packet of data is still scrutinised? On the streets of Tehran, the mood is wary. Shopkeepers who lost business during the blackout are cautiously reloading their card machines.
Students, who relied on VPNs to access coursework, are testing the waters. UK officials are watching closely, citing cyber security risks. But the human story is one of resilience and adaptation.
Iranians have become experts at finding workarounds, from mesh networks to satellite dishes. The restoration may not signal freedom; it could be a more sophisticated form of control. As one Tehrani told me, 'They give us back the internet so they can watch us more closely.
' The cultural shift is profound: a generation that tasted digital liberty is now learning to live with digital surveillance. The real question is not when the internet came back, but what Iranians will do with it now.
